T Nation

Cardio Question and Heart Rate

Conditioning
#1

so if someone could explain to me, it would be appreciated,

Ive been told that if you are trying to lose fat while training, that cardio is an absolute essential, fair enough, ive been told that 20mins max is the best, anymore, is a waste,

and the aim of it is to achieve a heart rate slightly higher and not full on so the cardio becomes aerobic instead of anaerobic,

so Ive been doing 30mins on the tread mill at 8km per hour, approx 3-4 times per week,

However, over the years ive become quite fit and am constantly trying to lose weight and although its not easy, at the end of 30mins, fairly sweaty but the heart rate doesn’t seem to be up all that high, so do you need to increase the speed as you become fitter or is 8km per hour constant at 30mins sufficient,

basically, just wanting to know if I need to go harder to get myself at the most appropriate heart rate?

thanks in advance everyone

#2

You’re asking if you need some form of progression?

Yeah.

#3

Increase the intensity

#4

Thanks for the replies,

does that mean, if say an olympic marathon runner decided to lose some fat, and do some cardio

he’d pretty much have to do a pace probably the treadmill couldn’t even do just to get his heart rate up, so something that I find acceptable of 8km/h is going to be a complete waste of time?

#5

Why would an olympic marathon runner want to lose weight? They already look like corpses.

#6

…i had the same problem when i was doing alot of running…i used to just bump up the speed to 9.9 for a few min then drop back down to 8 then when my heart rate level’d off i’d bump it up again

#7

intervals are great but why not change your whole program. Start moving heavy objects around and do some HITT sprint work outs. I am not a big fan of running so I don’t do it. Some one asked Dan John once if he ran?! His response was “From what”? You do not need to run long distances to lose fat. Ever seen a fat 100 meter sprinter? Don’t forget that you have to have a clean diet before any real progress is made. Good luck!

#8

[quote]ATCJM wrote:
intervals are great but why not change your whole program. Start moving heavy objects around and do some HITT sprint work outs. I am not a big fan of running so I don’t do it. Some one asked Dan John once if he ran?! His response was “From what”? You do not need to run long distances to lose fat. Ever seen a fat 100 meter sprinter? Don’t forget that you have to have a clean diet before any real progress is made. Good luck![/quote]

I mean this with truly no respect to Dan John. I’ve learned a lot from him. But what would you estimate his bodyfat to be?

People have been doing cardio for years to get lean. HIIT workouts can be effective but in certain cases are definitely not the best method.

#9

I can give an honest reason to run longer distances - it will help with anything that requires an elevation of your heart rate. For example if your playing basketball or any other sport you won’t become winded as quickly.

But for myself, being in the military its required so I do it.

#10

If the workout becomes easier increase the intensity.

Simple.

#11

well, this is my situation,

been training for a few years, trying to lose some bodyfat,

i’m not an athlete or never used to be in anyway,

currently doing 8km/h on the treadmill, which isn’t easy

at the end of the session, im not puffed, im not sweating very much,

the whole cardio session isn’t easy in anyway,

even though its not easy, I just feel that its not good enough or maximising return on investment

should I up it??, as a few years ago I (MISTAKINGLY) did 10km runs for a while in order to lose fat,

im not a good runner in anyway, but I ended up doing 10km once per week for 12 sessions, my first time was 1 hour 1 minute, by the 12th session, I was doing 10km in 40mins, which I know is quite ok, but I stopped as I got told by numerous people that long distances don’t help in muscle building and fat loss together

#12

Just for giggles give this a shot:

Instead of going at 8kmph for 20min solid, try alternating a minute of 11kmph with 30 seconds of 6kmph for the 20min session. Give it a shot and see how it goes :slight_smile:

PS: From my limited experience the best fat loss is made when you include weight training in your workout and really focus on an effective nutrition plan.

Best of luck!

#13

If you feel comfortable with the 8 Km pace, I agree with a lot of the previous posts in that you should maybe increase the intensity via HIIT. So maybe throw in a couple of 10-12 km/h sprints every couple of minutes during your jog.

#14

[quote]ATCJM wrote:
intervals are great but why not change your whole program. Start moving heavy objects around and do some HITT sprint work outs. I am not a big fan of running so I don’t do it. Some one asked Dan John once if he ran?! His response was “From what”? You do not need to run long distances to lose fat. Ever seen a fat 100 meter sprinter? Don’t forget that you have to have a clean diet before any real progress is made. Good luck![/quote]

I don’t know who Dan John is or what HITT sprint work is but a better question would have been “Ever seen a fat 400 meter sprinter?” After learning good sprint mechanics any workout that involves sprinting distances of 300 - 400 meters will move you closer to your goals. As a progression later you can try hill sprinting if the terrain is available to you. If you do try something like this make sure to progress in a methodical manner. Good Luck!

#15

Another option is to up the incline on the treadmill. I can get my HR up with a fast paced walk on max incline. Even wear a weighted vest/backpack to really get that HR elevated.